Tripped and Fell on a Worn Carpet in an Office

I tripped and fell on a worn carpet in an office and fractured my kneecap. Can I claim compensation against my employer’s insurance?

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

A claim for having tripped and fell on a worn carpet in an office will only be possible if you can establish and prove that your employer has been negligent for failing to make repairs in an appropriate time frame, and by failing to take action there was a failure in a duty of care to ensure you could use the office safely.

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act (1974) places a legal obligation on your employer to ensure that the workplace is safe for employees and that health and safety risks are kept to the minimum practical level. This legislation covers the installation of flooring as well as its maintenance, and if the carpet had been allowed to become worn to the point that it became a trip hazard, your employer could have been negligent for failing to have the worn section of carpet repaired.

Although slips, trips and falls are a major cause of injuries at work, many employers do not carry out a specific slip, trip and fall risk assessment. It is an employer’s responsibility to complete such an assessment regularly to ensure that risks are rapidly identified and rectified.

Establishing and obtaining evidence of employer negligence in these circumstances can be awkward and often stressful for the accident victim. If you use a personal injury solicitor to pursue your claim for having tripped and fell on a worn carpet in an office, evidence of negligence such as witness statements relating to the condition of the carpet in the office can be collected by your solicitor in support of your claim for having tripped and fallen on a worn carpet in an office.

If you have not already done so, you should also make a report in your employers Accident Book indicating that you tripped and fell on a worn carpet in an office, and you should include the date and time of the accident and brief details of your injuries. If possible, you should also take photographs of the hazard to help support your claim for office trip injury compensation. However before you do so, you should seek legal advice from a personal injury solicitor and confirm you are within your rights to make an office trip injury claim.